The invention relates generally to electronic power conversion and more particularly to a solid state high voltage, fast rise/fall time, and high pulse repetition rate pulse generator using a transmission line transformer.
Plasma generators capable of operating at high voltages with fast pulse rise and fall times, and high pulse repetition rates have generally employed radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers and related technology to accomplish high voltage, high speed and high pulse repetition rate generation and transmission. Such RF power amplifiers are expensive to produce and suffer in reliability due to internal heat build-up during high pulse repetition rate generation. RF amplifiers also undesirably require significant real estate and generally have low electric efficiency. Further, RF power amplifier technology is not particularly suitable for generation of high pulse repetition rates due to thermal losses, among other things.
Known high voltage pulse generators for the generation of plasma and the like generally employ gap type switches that substantially limit the upper pulse repetition rate as well as the overall system reliability level. These known high voltage pulse generation systems also require a substantial amount of real estate to provide a working system due to structural limitations.
It would be both advantageous and beneficial to provide a high voltage, fast rise/fall time, high pulse repetition rate pulse generator that overcomes the high pulse repetition rate limitations associated with conventional high voltage pulse generators. It would be further advantageous if the high voltage, fast rise/fall time, high pulse repetition rate pulse generator were capable of continued operation without impairment of the pulse generator during substantially longer time periods than that achievable using conventional high voltage pulse generators. It would be further advantageous if the high voltage, fast rise/fall time, high pulse repetition rate pulse generator occupied substantially less real estate to provide a working system than that required by conventional high voltage pulse generators.